Making the Grade

Houston university topples UT as No. 1 school in the state, says new report

U.S. News & World Report's 2019 Best Colleges ranking puts Rice in first place.

Nearly a year after U.S. News & World Report crowned the University of Texas at Austin the No. 1 school in the state (and the 32nd best school in the entire world) among its Best Global Universities, the magazine's latest rankings have once again placed Rice University to the top spot — ahead of UT.

On September 10, the prestigious publication released its anticipated 2019 Best Colleges report, an analysis of more than 1,800 schools across the country. Rice ranked No. 1 in Texas and an impressive No. 16 in the nation, tying with Cornell University. Rice also ranked No. 8 overall in best undergraduate teaching and No. 14 in best value.

So how does the same publication rank Rice as best in the state in one ranking and the second best in another? The reason for the two different outcomes lies in how the data was weighted for the two rankings.

In creating the 2019 Best Colleges ranking, U.S News placed particular emphasis on student outcomes, analyzing everything from freshmen retention numbers to graduation rates of low-income students. In comparison, U.S. News researchers compiling last year's Best Global Universities rankings placed more importance on academic outcomes including professional reputation and numbers of publications produced annually.

In 2018, Rice had a 4-year graduation rate of 83 percent and a freshmen retention rate of 97 percent. Compare that to UT's graduation rate of 58 percent and freshmen retention rate of 95 percent, and the difference between the two rankings become a bit clearer.

As college becomes increasingly expensive, analyzing student outcomes is critical, says the publication. "A university is not successful if it does not graduate its students, which is why the Best Colleges rankings place the greatest value on outcomes, including graduation and retention rates," said Robert Morse, chief data strategist at U.S. News, in a release.

Nationwide, the top schools leaned heavily towards the Ivy League. Princeton University was crowned the best university in the nation followed by Harvard University (No. 2). Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, and Yale University all tied for third.

In Texas, Southern Methodist University (No. 3), Texas A&M University (No. 4), and Baylor University (No. 5) rounded out the top five spots. Locally, Southwestern University came in 12th in Texas while St. Edward's University took the 16th spot.

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flight cancelled

Historic Houston air terminal museum closes due to budget shortfall

Photo courtesy of 1940 Air Terminal Museum

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A beloved Houston museum has closed its doors — at least for now. The 1940 Air Terminal Museum announced this morning (Monday, March 2) that it has ceased operations.

Located next to Hobby Airport, the 1940 Air Terminal Museum showcases Houston’s aviation history. Designed by local architect Joseph Finger, the museum’s Art Deco building is a protected landmark that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Museum president and director Karen Nicolaou tells CultureMap that the problem is simple. The museum’s revenues don’t match its expenses. Previously, the museum raised $100,000 or more per year from raffles on Facebook, but that stream dried up.

It generates some money from admissions and more from hosting private events, but it hasn’t been enough. Being far away from the Museum District means it doesn’t get the cross traffic that its more centrally-located peer institutions do.

Still, the museum occupies a unique space in Houston. “It’s one of the coolest places for kids to see airplanes,” Nicolaou says. “There’s no other place where someone can walk onto the ramp and take a picture of plane taking off with nothing in the way.”

While the museum is closed for now, Nicolaou says its board has been in contact with the Texas Historical Commission about taking over operations. One issue is that the commission would want to take ownership of the building from Houston Airports, according to Nicolaou.

“That’s going to take coordination between the city, the airport system, and the Texas State Senate. There’s a lot of politics involved,” Nicolaou says.

Of course, she has a simple proposal for Houston Mayor John Whitmire that would move the process along.

“Mr. Mayor, sell the historical commission the building for a dollar and be done with it,” she says with a laugh.

Whether it’s operated by the City of Houston, the Texas Historical Commission, a university, or some other entity, Nicolaou hopes the public will be able to visit the museum again soon and for many years to come.

“We want a permanent solution. We’ve tried for one for years,” she says. “It belongs to the city. It belongs to the residents of the city of Houston. They should have it to go to for years.”

CultureMap has contacted Mayor Whitmire’s office for comment about the museum’s future and will update this article when we receive a reply.

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